Sealing and bearing means for rotaryregenerative heat exchangers of the type having a stationary rotor



w. FIRGAU ETAL' 3,344,849

REGENERATIVE HEAT Oct. 3, 1967 SEALING AND BEARING MEANS FOR ROTARY EXCHANGERS OF THE TYPE HAVING A STATIONARY BOTOR Filed Jan. 3, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l 3 n 2' H 1 2 l 1 m w M m d C 2 2 C 4% U .l w- 7 n V m bk c 1. p a Z6. 81 9 9 b g 7 m 67 6 W H .I .w x F I Illili U U 3 A j w 5 3 C J lb Q C NA 5 4 I45 5 4 11 a 1 a M m m Ju 1 1 E 5 5 O 5 H w A aATToRNEv 06L 1967 w. FIRGAU ET'AL 4 SEALING AND BEARING MEANS FOR ROTARY REGENERATIVE HEAT EXCHANGER S OF THE TYPE HAVING A STATIONARY ROTOR Filed Jan. 3, 1964 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

lNVENTOR 2%; ATTORNEY Oct. 3, 1967 w. FIRGAU ETAL... 3,344,849

SEALING AND BEARING MEANS FOR ROTARY REGENERATIVE HEAT EXCHANGERS OF THE TYPE HAVING A STATIONARY ROTOR Filed Jan. 3, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.3

13 V w He 1 10 C a1 i INVENTOR A y M Wvw g ATTORNEY 06L 1967 w. FIRGAU ETA!" 3,344,849

REGENERATIVE HEAT vSEALING AND BEARING MEANS FOR ROTARY EXCHANGERS OF THE TYPE HAVING A STATIONARY ROTOR 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet '4 Filed Jan. 3,

Fig.

Oct. 3, 1967 w, F|RGAU A 3,344,849

SEALING AND BEARING MEANS FOR ROTARY REGENERATIVE HEAT EXCHANGERS OF THE TYPE'HAVING A STATIONARY ROTOR Filed Jan. 5, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 5

Fig.6 i 70 l O A 76 M \a Ii Kc O 49 NVENmR ALBERT GSELL M M, Q,

ATTORNEY United States Patent SEALING AND BEARING lVIEANS FOR ROTARY- REGENERATIVE HEAT EXCHANGERS OF THE TYPE HAVING A STATIONARY ROTOR Werner Firgau, Heidelberg-Pfaffengrund, and' Albert Gsell, Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany, assignors to Svenska Rotor Maskiner Aktiebolag, Stockholm, Sweden, a company Filed Jan. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 336,854 9 Claims. (Cl. 165-4) The present invention relates to a regenerative heat exchanger of the type which comprises a stationary regenerator body or stator containing a heat exchanging mass and rotatable duct members at the ends of the regenerative body for directing one of the heat exchanging fluids through the regenerator body. More particularly, the invention refers to an embodiment of heat exchangers of this type in which a stationary tube (stator tube) passes axially through the regenerator body While a second tube (driving tube) is rotatably mounted inside the stator tube and coaxially therewith, the rotatable duct members on each side of the regenerator body being connected to the driving tube.

In heat exchangers of the kind described, it is a great problem to prevent mingling of the heat exchanging fluids because due to thermal deformation of the regenerator body its end surfaces become dished during operation and this dishing varies in dependence on the load. This results in varying the width of the clearance between themouths of the rotating ducts and the end surfaces of the stationary regenerator body.

According to the invention, a sealing frame is yieldingly and sealingly connected to each duct member mouth and adapted to follow the deformations of the adjacent end surface of the regenerator body and at least one of the inner and outer ends of each sealing frame is axially adjustably connected to the rotor formed by the driving tube and the rotatable duct members. This arrangement renders it possible to adapt the position of the sealing frames to the actual operating conditions.

The use of a central driving tube, which is mounted within a co-axially with the stator t-ube, means in any case an abandoning of the constructive principles, which have hitherto in practice always been valid for air preheaters with stationary heat retaining mass, and therefore in several respects leads to constructive solutions, which are per se also new. Thus new solutions are provided for the fastening of the sealing plates, for devices for adjusting these plates, for the supply of lubricants to the bearings of the rotating parts, for the driving mechanism, etc.

with-reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section view of an air preheater according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a thrust hearing included in the air preheater shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an upper guide bearing included in the air preheater according to FIG. 1, and I FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of a thrust bearing for a rotary regenerative heat exchanger, FIG. 4a being a similar view in a plane perpendicular to that of FIG. 4,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the same section as FIG. 1 and showing in detail the suspension system for the upper sealing frame, and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 in the same section and showing in detail the suspension system for the lower sealing frame.

The invention will now be described more in detail 7 "ice FIG. 1 shows that the stator 1 with its bottom flange 2 at the periphery is supported by beams 3 of the boiler stand. The stationary stator tube passing therethrough is double walled and consists of an outer tube 4a and an inner tube 4i, which are together referred to as the stator tube 4. The space within such a double wall can of course be used as a passage way for a cooling fluid or gaseous medium, e.g. leakage air. Within this stator tube 411 rotating driving tube is co-axially positioned, consisting of three parts 5a, 5b and 5c, detachably secured together, to enable inspection, mounting or dismounting of seals or hearing parts. The driving tube as a whole is marked with the FIGURE 5.

The driving tube 5 connects rigidly against torsions, the upper rotatable duct 11 with the lower channel connecting piece 12 and is, approximately on a level with the lower end surface of the stator 1, supported by means of a combined radial and thrust bearing 6/ 7, and tube part 5b with a peripheral flange 8 rests immediately on the upper race 6, while the lower race 7 is supported by an annular bracket 9 on the lower inner ring 10 of the stator. Consequently, the driving tube 5 is carried and also guided by this hearing. Through this fastening the bracket 9 absorbs the deformations of the inner ring 10 caused by temperature fluctuations and to center the bearing 6/7.

The supply of the lubricant to the bearings can be supplied from the outside through the stator by means of a heat insulated duct, with or without cooling and filtration. The shown embodiment illustrates, however, an especially appropriate solution.

The supply of lubricant to the rotating part consisting of the upper duct 11, the lower duct 12 and the driving tube 5 connecting these two parts rigidly against torsions with each other, is supplied centrally through a pressure pipe 21, of which just the upper and lower ends are shown, with the rest being hidden in the drawing.

The lubricant coming from both bearings is via the return pipe 24 brought to an axially mounted, downwardly open, vessel 27, which is rotating with the return pipe and with the driving tube 5, and therefrom to a stationary tank 28. The rotating vessel 27 and the stationary tank 28 are sealed against each other with a packing box. From the tank 28 the lubricant is carried away to a pump, which is not shown, via a pipe 24.

The oil supply from this pump (from below on the right hand side) is brought through the tank 28 and the vessel 27 in the opposite direction i.e. axially from below and upwardly, and enters the pressure pipe 21, which is welded to the cover of the vessel 27. A sealing coupling 29 forms a connection between the stationary oil supply pipe from the pump and the coaxial rotating end of the pressure pipe 21. I

For sealing of the upper duct 11 against the outer flange 40 of the stator 1 a sealing plate 41, is provided, which consists of two radial sealing strips extending along each side of plate 41, one arc-shaped sealing strip provided at the periphery connecting the ends of the two radial sealing strips with each other, as well as a corresponding short piece of arc at the hub side end. These sealing strips of the plate can'for a better adaptation to the deformations of the front side of the stator be split into sections, which are flexibly connected to each other for accommodating the vibrations in a direction perpendicular to the end surface.

The sealing plate 41 is connected to the end rim of the rotary duct 11 by means of an elastic seal 44, which may slide with its arc-shaped periphery part against the periphery flange 40. It is, however, preferable to arrange the sealing without immediate contact and maintain a small distance between the plate 41, since as a practical matter a narrow gap will ensure a sufficient sealing and furthermore avoid considerable wear caused by a sliding sealing.

In a corresponding way the short, hub side, arc-shaped part of the sealing plate 41 will be kept tightly above the inner ring 31 of the stator, so that also here a sealing with a small gap, i.e. without friction, will be arranged. The sealing against the duct 11 is also here provided by means of continuous flexible cuffs 44, 45 and 77 in the shape of a leaf spring in cross-section as in FIG. 3.

The above described sealing plate 41 is at points of its outer periphery suspended from the outer ends of two-armed, radially provided levers 49 and more precisely in points 50, preferably in the corner points of the plate, in which its radial sealing lists encounter the areshaped sealing list provided at the periphery. The pivots 51 of said two-armed levers are mounted in bearings on the duct 11. In view of the deformations, which may be caused by temperature influence, the pivots 51 can also be carried by a support connected with the hub part.

In a corresponding way the central, short, arc-shaped parts of the sealing plate 41 are suspended at points 52 from short two-armed levers 53. Bearings 54 serve as stationary pivots for those two-armed levers 53, which bearings are fastened to the bottom flange 116' of the duct 11.

The fastening of the sealing plate 56 of duct 12 is arranged in precisely the same way. The parts of this plate are supported at points 50 of their outer periphery from correspondingly long, two-armed levers 49 and with the central ares at points 52 from short, two-armed levers 53. The bearings 51 and 54 serve as stationary pivots for the long and short, two-armed levers, respectively, and are supported on the outside of duct 12 and on the inside of its bottom flange 12c, respectively.

All these levers 49 and 53 of the upper sealing plate 41 and the lower sealing plate 56 extend into the inner space of the driving tube 5. By means of these levers 49 and 53 the parts of the sealing plates 41 and 56 are positioned so that they float adjacent the sealing counterparts of the stator. On one hand a continuous sliding contact of the rotating sealing plates against the oppositely lying parts of the stator will be avoided, 'as the friction caused thereby would very rapidly cause wearing out. On the other hand the distance must not be too wide, since a too large air gap would make the sealing ineffective. Therefore the sealing members are kept out of contact Only at the smallest possible distance from the stator by means of the movable levers 49 and 53. For this purpose the dead weight of the sealing members as well as of the levers carrying them is counter-balanced by the use of weights or with springs, which can be controlled pneumatically, hydraulically or mechanically and further automatically or by hand.

This weight compensation for the sealing members can be provided individually, i.e. for each of them independently of the others. It is, however, also possible to interconnect the corresponding levers at each end of the stator with each other, as shown in FIG. 1. There, an upper lever 49 and the lever 49 lying below, oppositely to it, which are both intended for adjustment of the outer parts of the sealing plates on both sides, are connected to each other through a connecting bar 70. In this connecting bar 70 are further prestressed spring bodies which at braking due to the frictional contact between the plates and the stator permit the plates to move apart axially.

Weights. 68 are provided for counter-balancing the difference in effective weights of all the parts of the upper and lower sealing plates. However, springs can be used also. By means of cogged stretching screws 69, which are actuated by cog wheels 71 and shafts 72, the length of bars 70 can be adjusted with hand wheels'75. In view of the extremely low rotational speed, for the present version of such heat exchangers approximately one revolution per minute, this adjustment can comfortably be done by hand even while the heat exchanger is in operation.

In a corresponding way, as described above for a pair of long levers 49, upper short lever 53 and the axially aligned lower short lever 53 are interconnected by means of a connecting bar with a stretching screw, and con trolled in common in a similar manner as described above via a shaft and a hand wheel, so that also the short, arcshaped central parts of the sealing plates 41 and 56 can we readjusted during operation. Counter-balancing Weights may be used also for the short levers.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the lever 41 has been shown in chain-dotted lines in order to indicate that it is not connected to the same bar 70 as the lever 53 but that the two levers are connected to different bars 70 angularly spaced from each other.

This adjustable suspension of the sealing members with compensation of the dead weights of those members and the devices carrying them, or, when connected in pairs, with compensation of the weight difference, i.e. of the remaining, possibly effective weights, makes it possible to arrange an exact adaptation of the sealing members to the position of the oppositely lying surfaces with only the use of a very small supply of power for compensating for the thermal deformations of the stator surfaces with the adjacent sealing members.

This is particularly important as it enables an operator to make simple hand adjustments under actual operating conditions in response to termal deviations caused thereby. This Weight compensation is advantageous also when using other (e.g. pneumatical or hydraulic) guiding devices, no matter whether the initial adjustment was by hand or automatically. I i

It is evident from the foregoing that this invention makes possible the compensation of the weights or of the weights differences, i.e. the creating of an approximately neutral balance position for the sealing members, and is advantageous for all regenerative heat exchangers with stationary heat retaining mass and rotary channel connecting pieces, since for heat exchangers of this kind the problem is to keep as narrow a leakage gap as possible between the rotating sealing members and. the stationary oppositely lying heat retaining mass and at the same time to avoid friction. Further, with the provision for simple hand adjusting, the compensation can be' brought about immediately when it is needed under actual operating conditions.

In view of the fact that the design according to the present invention enables an exact adjustment, it is of course important to eliminate possible sources of errors, which could nn-favorably influence the satisfactorily symmetrical running of the rotating parts. Here the driving mechanism should be observed, and in the embodiment shown is effected via a cog ring 73, placed at the lower end of the driving tube 5. On the left hand side a gear wheel 74 engaging this cog ring 73 is shown. Such a driving mechanism produces radially directed forces tending to bend the driving tube 5. To avoid this disadvantage the driving mechanism is not arranged as hitherto with only one driving device, but two or more driving devices with such gear wheels 74 are placed symmetrically on the periphery of the cog ring 73 so that their radial forces produced by the engagement of teeth Will neutralize each other. The symmetry of the working forces are further improved in that the driving devices are rigidly coupled to each other.

An especially symmetrical distribution of the driving torque can be reached by the use of two or more parallelly flange 120, a steel ring 12d and a top flange 122. The lower duct 12 is through the flange 12e screwed to a flange 15 of the lowest driving tube part 50. The lower duct 12 is guided via guiding ribs 16, which are also provided at the part 50 of the rotating driving tube.

In the air preheater shown the coil side is the lower part. The combined radial and thrust bearing 6/7 which supports the load of the rotating parts, is thus placed within an area with a moderate temperature. Therefore it is possible to use an artificial material for the bearing lining. Polytetrafluorethylene is suitable for this purpose, and it is recommended, therefore, to place this supporting radial and thrust bearing in the upper part, if the flue gases will be brought from below and upwards, and the cold side of the air preheater is thus lying in the upper part. The bearing 6/ 7 is centered by the" annular bracket 9.

In the interior of annular bracket 9 plates 9a are rigidly fastened to it, into which adjustable support 912 are screwed for spring bodies. By means of spring plates 9c/ 9d and screws 9e the springs 91 are given the desired prestressed character before assembly.

After the mounting of the supports 9b the screws 9e are loosened, so that the spring force on one side infiuences the bracket 9 via the support 9b and on the other side the inner ring 10 of the stator. The annular bracket 9 is placed in a groove of the inner ring 10 of the stator.

When the inner ring 10 of the stator is heated during operation, it will extend itself. Through a corresponding, automatic return of the spring plates 9d under the action of the springs 9f the centering of the bearings in relation to the stator will be maintained.

The prestress of the springs 9f, the number of which depends on the size of the preheater, should be greater than the combined radial forces acting thereon.

Through the intake of the pressure pipe 21 the lubricant for the bearing 6/7 shown in FIG. 2 is brought to a tank 25. Therefrom it will be transmitted via a spillway rim 25a to a drainage tank 26, which immediately leads to the discharge pipe 24. The bearing 6/ 7 is thereby, which can be seen from the description, completely immersed in the lubricant. Further, the bearing at the cold end of the regenerative heat exchanger is in the described embodiment protected by a hose seal 46, the casing 47 of which is fastened to the bottom flange 120 of the lower duct. In this way there is a double seal both at the outer and the inner periphery of the regenerative heat exchanger.

FIG. 3 shows a similar reinforcement also for the conical shell 11a of the upper duct 11 through parts Illa-He. This upper duct 11 is through the flange 11e screwed to the flange 13 of the upper part 5a of the cen tral tube. The duct 11 is guided via a guiding rib 14 attached to part 5a of the tube.

The driving tube 5 is at this hot end guided by a guiding ring 17 welded to the part 5a. Against this ring a twopart race ring 18 is secured, which slides in multiple race bearing 19, which is supported by a centering ring 20 against the upper inner ring 31 of the stator. The functioning of the centering ring 20 is the same as annular bracket 9. v

The lubricant is brought through pressure pipe 21 to an annular groove 22 in the upper half of the two-part race ring 18. Then, the lubricant flows over the rim of this groove past the sliding surfaces between the ring 18 and the multiple race bearing 19, and flows finally to a drainage tank 23 connected to discharge tube 24.

A hose sealing 46 is provided between the centering ring 20 and the bottom flange 110 of the duct 11, the casing 47 of the seal being fastened to the bottom flange 11c and closed by a casing cover 48. The hose sealing 46 keeps away dust from the guide bearing 18/19.

FIG. 4 illustrates, in addition to the embodiment according to FIG. 1, a variation of the design of a combined radial and thrust hearing, which can also replace the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Since in the air preheater shown, the hot side is lying in the upper part and the cold side in the lower part, with the journal bearing correspondingly arranged in the lower part, the bearing shown in FIG. 4 is placed in the lower part of the air preheater. If the reverse is true, the bearing can be placed in the upper part in a manner similar to FIG. 4.

Also the bearing according to FIG. 4 is made as a combined radial and thrust hearing, as will be understood from the shape of the rings 6 and 7. The peripheral flange 8 of the part 5b of the tube is supported on the upper bearing ring 6 by means of a special device, consisting of the parts 9a9g'. This support is the part which essentially forms the difference between the bearing of FIG. 4 and that of FIG. 2. A better illustration of this intermediate member 9a'9g' is shown alone in FIG. 4a on an axial plane turned and on a somewhat smaller scale.

To the peripheral flange 8 a bearing bracket 9a is rigidly fastened. As shown in FIG. 4a, the bracket has two shanks each provided with a slot (thus open from below), so that the shanks have approximately the shape of two-toothed forks. In this slot a sleeve 9b is rotatably fastened, by means of its two pivots 90, which are inserted into those slots.

In the upper bearing ring 60, bolt 9d is rigidly secured, in an inclined outward-downward direction and passes through a boring of the set screw 9e locking the sleeve 919'. To the bolt 9d a collar 9f with a rounded outer surface is rigidly fastened, which divides the cavity of the sleeve 9b. In the two cavities strong cup springs 9g are provided. The cup springs above the collar 9 must be strong enough to be able to bear its relative share of the weight of the rotating shaft 5 and the parts fastened thereto. The resilient supports 9a'9g' can be provided in a large enough number symmetrically over the whole periphery, so that only a corresponding fraction of the total weight of these rotating parts falls upon each support.

Also this design is very suitable for absorption of the heat deformations produced by the considerable difference in temperature between cold conditions and operation conditions, and also the continuous fluctuation caused at each rotation on account of the passing through of the hot flue gases and the cold air in alternating succession. The sleeve 9b can at radial displacements of the bolt 9d swing around its pivot 90'. For this reason the collar 9f of the bolt, serving as a guiding member for the sleeve 9b, is rounded at its peripheral surface. The cup springs 9g cause the necessary adaptation of the length of the supports to the changes of the distance between the sliding ring 6 and the peripheral flange 8.

The idea of the present invention, above described with the guidance of different constructive details, is a great improvement over the known embodiments be cause hitherto it has always been necessary to adjust the sealing parts, e.g. the sealing plates, to a suitable sealing gap before the cold air preheater has been put into service. Therefore, in order to avoid friction or even pressing caused by the deformations produced by the heating during the operation, there is nothing else to do but to adjust the air gap somewhat too large rather than too narrow for the sake of cautiousness. In this way corresponding leakage losses will of course be obtained, which will during the whole period'of operation reach a considerable amount.

The present invention on the other hand provides for the first time the possibility of after-adjustment during the operation, so that the presetting need not be definite. Now it is possible to undertake a most exact adjustment to the narrowest possible air gap in an air preheater in operation, i.e. a hot air preheater. Since at changes of the operating conditions the necessary after-adjustment can always be made, there is no risk involved in adjusting during the operation thereof.

' The operation of the after-adjustment device is very simple, especially when the adjustment levers are connected in pairs. Additionally, a further simplification is possible through interconnecting several or all pairs of levers, which will then be adjusted all together by means of only one common hand wheel.

We claim:

' 1. In regenerative heat exchanger apparatus of the character described and having an annular stationary regenerator body with a heat exchanging mass disposed therein forming passages for the axial flow therethrough of a heating'fluid and a fluid to be heated, a rotatable duct member at each end of said regenerator body for directing said fluids therethrough with each of said duct members having a sector-shaped opening adjacent the end surface of said body, and a stationary tube am'ally disposed and passing through said heat retaining mass, the combination which comprises a driving tube coaxially disposed within said stationary tube and rigidly interconnecting said duct members, oil'lubricated ring-shaped slide bearings disposed between said driving tube and the said body with the slide surfaces of said bearings being of artificial material and being segmented to provide substantially vertical and horizontal slide surfaces therebetween, a sealing plate axially adjustably disposed on each of said duct members at the outlets thereof facing said. body and in sealing and flexible engagement therewith, a lever disposed adjacent each end of each of said sealing plates with the inner and outer edges of said plates being suspended from its respective lever, an adjusting spindle coaxially disposed within said driving tube and having means to interconnect the radially inner ends of said levers and to vertically displace the radial inner ends of said levers simultaneously for effecting the clearance between said plates and the ends of said body adjacent thereto, pivot means disposed centrally of said levers between the radial nmer and outer ends thereof for pivotally supporting said levers, said pivot means having bearing means disposed on the adjacent rotatable duct members,

counter-weight means disposed on said adjusting spindle for compensating for the weight difierences of said sealing plates and said levers connected thereto on opposite sides of said body.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 which includes a combined radial and thrust bearing disposed between the said driving tube and the said body at the cold operating side thereof, with an annular bracket disposed on said body and supporting said bearing, and resilient means disposed between said bracket and said bearing providing relative radial movement therebetween.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 which includes a lubricating oil conduit disposed in said driving tube and rotatable therewith and in flow communication with said bearings for the lubrication thereof, and stationary oil supply means in flow communication with said oil conduit at the end thereof opposite said bearings, and means for interconnecting said rotatable oil conduit and said stationary oil supply means.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 in which said bearings have incorporated therein spillway circulation means for the oil delivered thereto, an oil outlet means connected to said bearings and said oil supply means for the withdrawal of the lubricating oil therefrom and the cooling and recirculation thereof.

driving cog ring disposed on said driving tube, and a plurality if driving means interconnecting said cog ring symmetrically around the periphery thereof.

6. In regenerative heat exchanger apparatus of the character described and having an annular stationary regenerator body containing a heat exchanging mass forming passages for the flow of a heating fluid and a fluid to be heated axially therethrough, and a rotatable duct member at each end of said regenerator body for directing one of said fluids through said body and having a sector-shaped opening adjacent the end surface of said body, the combination which comprises a driving tube passing centrally through said regenerator body and rigidly interconnecting said rotatable duct members, radial and thrust bearing means disposed between said driving tube and said body, a movable sealing frame yieldingly and sealingly connected to each duct member opening and adapted to follow the deformations of the adjacent end surface of said regenerator body, a lever disposed 7 adjacent each end of each of said sealing frames with the inner and outer edge-s of said frames being suspended from its respective lever, pivot means disposed centrally of said levers between the radial inner and outer ends thereof for pivotally supporting said levers, said pivot means having bearing means disposed on the adjacent rotatable duct members, casing means surrounding said rotatable duct members and forming inlet and outlet chambers for said heating fluid and said fluid to be heated respectively, and adjusting means connecting the ends'of the levers connected to the radial inner and outer ends of said sealing frames, respectively, at one end of the said regenerator body with the ends of the corresponding levers on the other end thereof, said adjusting means extending through said driving tube and out of one end thereof for the axial displacement of said sealing frames while they are rotating with respect to said body. 7. Regenerative heat exchanger apparatus as described in claim 6 in which said adjusting means includes spindles disposed inside the driving tube and connecting the ends of the levers connected to the radial inner and outer ends of said sealing frames, respectively, at one end of the said regenerator body with the ends of the corresponding levers on the other side thereof while permitting adjustment of the axial distance between the lever ends.

8. Regenerative heat exchanger apparatus as described in claim 6 which-includes counter-weights disposed on said adjusting means for substantially counter-balancing the weight difference between the said interconnecting sealing frames on opposite sides of the regenerator body.

9 Regenerative heat exchanger apparatus as described in claim 6 in which said radial and thrust bearing means includes a combined radial and thrust hearing which is located substantially within the'region of the cold end of the regenerator body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1962 Stoddard et a1. 7

2/1966 Firgau 1655 

6. IN REGENERATIVE HEAT EXCHANGER APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED AND HAVING AN ANNULAR STATIONARY REGENERATOR BODY CONTAINING A HEAT EXCHANGING MASS FORMING PASSAGES FOR THE FLOW OF A HEATING FLUID AND A FLUID TO BE HEATED AXIALLY THERETHROUGH, AND A ROTATABLE DUCT MEMBER AT EACH END OF SAID REGENERATOR BODY FOR DIRECTING ONE OF SAID FLUIDS THROUGH SAID BODY AND HAVING A SECTOR-SHAPED OPENING ADJACENT THE END SURFACE OF SAID BODY, THE COMBINATION WHICH COMPRISES A DRIVING TUBE PASSING CENTRALLY THROUGH SAID REGENERATOR BODY AND RIGIDLY INTERCONNECTING SAID ROTATABLE DUCT MEMBERS, RADIAL AND THRUST BEARING MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID DRIVING TUBE AND SAID BODY, A MOVABLE SEALING FRAME YIELDINGLY AND SEALINGLY CONNECTED TO EACH DUCT MEMBER OPENING AND ADAPTED TO FOLLOW THE DEFORMATIONS OF THE ADJACENT END SURFACE OF SAID REGENERATOR BODY, A LEVER DISPOSED ADJACENT EACH END OF EACH OF SAID SEALING FRAMES WITH THE INNER AND OUTER EDGES OF SAID FRAMES BEING SUSPENDED FROM ITS RESPECTIVE LEVER, PIVOT MEANS DISPOSED CENTRALLY OF SAID LEVERS BETWEEN THE RADIAL INNER AND OUTER ENDS THEREOF FOR PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID LEVERS, SAID PIVOT MEANS HAVING BEARING MEANS DISPOSED ON THE ADJACENT ROTATABLE DUCT MEMBERS, CASING MEANS SURROUNDING SAID ROTATABLE DUCT MEMBERS AND FORMING INLET AND OUTLET CHAMBERS OF SAID HEATING FLUID AND SAID FLUID TO BE HEATED RESPECTIVELY, AND ADJUSTING MEANS CONNECTING THE ENDS OF THE LEVERS CONNECTED TO THE RADIAL INNER AND OUTER ENDS OF SAID SEALING FRAMES, RESPECTIVELY, AT ONE END OF THE SAID REGENERATOR BODY WITH THE ENDS OF THE CORRESPONDING LEVERS ON THE OTHER END THEREOF, SAID ADJUSTING MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID DRIVING TUBE AND OUT OF ONE END THEREOF FOR THE AXIAL DISPLACEMENT OF SAID SEALING FRAMES WHILE THEY ARE ROTATING WITH RESPECT TO SAID BODY. 